Disneyland Is Raising Prices Once Again
The Walt Disney Company just had massive second-quarter profits, so naturally, Disneyland ticket prices are going up.
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The Walt Disney Company is one of the biggest and richest companies in the world and accordingly, they are jacking up prices for their customers. According to a report from Deadline, the company is raising the price of Disneyland Magic Keys across the board. The Magic Key program itself is just a year old and provides various admission options and pricing options (which it seems are not referred to as “discounts”) and experiences. However, if any fans of the flagship Disneyland theme park want to renew their Magic Keys, they will have to do so at an increased cost.
The Disneyland Magic Keys are currently offered in four tiers: Inspire, Believe, Enchant, and Imagine (the previous top tier Magic Key, Dream, has apparently been retired in favor of Inspire). The cost of each of these Magic Keys has been increased between $50 to $100, with the Inspire Key currently costing $1599. Disneyland is one of the company’s oldest and most famous properties, which makes it one of the most desirable for fans. As such, it makes sense that Disney would seek to maximize the amount of money they can charge their clientele to visit the already famously expensive and crowded Disneyland theme park.
It is worth noting that it is not like the Walt Disney Company is particularly in a financial crisis. Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently announced the company’s second-quarter earnings, which saw the world-conquering company grow by a whopping 23%. Chapek also said that “average per capita ticket revenue” had increased enormously, which is to say the amount of money made per Disneyland (and other theme parks) ticket sales and then extra purchases. However, he went on to say that those increases were “partially offset by an unfavorable attendance mix at Disneyland Resort.” It can be inferred that the “unfavorable attendance mix” might be referring to Magic Key holders, who, by purchasing a pass offered by Disney and claiming to enhance their experience at reduced costs, did not spend as much money. Hence, raise those Magic Key prices.
The original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is just one of many theme parks owned by the company. There are 12 official Disney Theme Parks around the world, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (which handles that part of the company) is one of the largest branches of one of the largest companies in the world. As such, Disneyland and the other parks are one of the single largest revenue sources for the company and it is very unsurprising that Bob Chapek would be looking to squeeze every dime out of them.
The Walt Disney Company has also been looking to expand the concept of brand experience outside of traditional theme parks like Disneyland. Notably, the company has been promoting the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a two-night hotel experience described as “live-action roleplaying” and “choose your own adventure.” As that program is still in a fledgling state, we will have to see how long they go before they begin to increase the ticket prices on that one.
